Horses & Magic
by echoandmaddie
Summary: Amelda was strong, smart and could ride just as well as any man, but nothing could prepare her for this...
1. Chapter 1

_Hi guys! This is my first ever fanfic, so please no nasty comments! Reviews would be greatly appreciated also. Thank you ;)_

_I own nothing apart from my characters and story._

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A soft whisper of breeze blew around me, soothing my flustered cheeks as I strode onto the small balcony. I collapsed into a plush armchair in exhaustion, surrounded by sweet-smelling flowers. I kicked off my muddy boots, and then flung my feet onto the table (very unladylike, I know). "Next time I take Max out for a gallop, I'll try not to get bucked off countless amounts of times." I sighed, but knowing my very 'fresh' stallion, Max, that was a hard promise to keep

I slowly closed my heavy eyes and dozed off, exhausted from my eventful morning ride. I let my head fall back against the chair with a 'thump', my long, honey blonde hair cascading down the back.

"Amelda! Did you take Maximus out for his exercise?" I heard my Uncle bark. I groaned, "Yes Uncle. Although with the amount of times he bucked me off, I would say he took me out for exercise!" He gave a hearty laugh back in response, and from what I heard, trudged back down the hallway.

I loved my Uncle; he was always in high spirits and shared my passion for horses. When I was born, both of my parents disappeared. No one knows where he or she is even Uncle hasn't a clue. But since then, he raised me as one of his own.

Uncle is he Royal Horse Master, so I grew up around horses for most of my life; oh and did I mention I love them? And I started riding before I could walk!

It was around mid-morning when I woke up from my nap, and the full bustle of the village could be heard below. Even though Uncle could've afforded a house near the palace, he insisted on living on the outskirts where the grass was cleaner and richer for the horses. As a consequence of that, I grew up amongst the poor. Although they had little money, they were the most generous and kindest of people of all, even more so than the filthy rich Lords and Ladies from the palace.

I stood from my seat and stretched out my sore muscles. Suddenly, my maid, Nora came rushing onto the balcony.

"Miss! May I speak with you?" she asked, panting for air.

I straightened my back and yawned sheepishly. "Whatever could be so i important at this time of the morning?" I smiled and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"Well…" she gulped, nervously twiddling her fingers by her side.

"Go on." I say, smiling at her reassuringly.

"Well the Master told me to inform you, that the Allfather has asked for your presence at the palace today." She said. My heart sank, that meant dresses, of which I loathed greatly, which Nora knew also.

"Thank you Nora. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but this is your day off, is it not?" I asked sternly. Nora stared at her feet, not willing to show me her burning cheeks.

"Yes Miss, but I needed the extra money to feed the family this week. You see, my Mother-in-law is coming to stay, and oh, she's so awfully strict, she never likes anything I cook for her, and…"

"Now, now Nora! If you needed more pay, why didn't you say so? It's no trouble at all!" I exclaimed, cutting her off mid-sentence. I pulled out a small leather pouch from my belt, lightly jingling with coins.

"Here you are! Now you may have the day off tomorrow instead of today, I fear I will need a little more help than just getting the dress on!" I laughed, plopping the pouch into her worn hands. Nora's eyes widened as I gave her the pouch,

"Oh how can I ever thank you Miss!" she cried, almost wiping back tears.

"Nonsense! It was nothing. Now, could you please get my bath ready?" I replied. It was going to be a long day.

I looked at myself in the mirror, my hair had been put into a braided bun, which was decorated with small peach and white coloured flowers, and I wore a long, flowy white dress. Simple, yes, but apparently very elegant according to Nora.

I trudged miserably down the staircase, where Uncle stood at the bottom with a cheeky grin on his face.

"What are **you** laughing about?" I asked crankily, trying to walk in the stiff sandals. Uncle put on his finest cape, and helped me down the last few steps.

"Well you look lovely in the dress my dear, but I think you may have forgotten that you must ride in it too." He chuckled, his grey beard twitching as he laughed.

"Ugh! Why must I wear a dress? You can't do anything in it, let alone ride!" I groaned. Uncle laughed, and helped me on Max (even though it was probably the must unladylike way of doing it), and we made our way to the castle.


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello again! Just like to quickly thank everyone who's taken the time to read my fanfic ;) If you guys could still give me some reviews, it would really help with my writing! Btw sorry this chapter took a long time to write! _

_Thanks _

_Disclaimer: I own nothing apart from my characters and story._

Chapter 2.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at the palace; the sun was lazily sitting on top of the mountains, making sure that Asgard was safe before the moon would take over for the night. The trip had taken much longer than expected, as riding side saddle wasn't overly the most comfortable position to be sitting in for two-and-a-half hours, so we had to stop quite a few times along the way.

Uncle had told me how nervous he was to see the king; he had sent two lots of horses a few weeks before our arrival, but I doubted anything would've been wrong with them; they had good, strong bloodlines, and received the best training in all of Asgard.

The palace was magnificent when we arrived; it's golden towers twinkling in the sunset, like a gentle giant sitting amongst the small city. We reached the entrance and dismounted, letting the stable hands take our horses. One of the guards approached us, and bowed deeply (although I couldn't take him seriously, due to his curly horned helmet that made him look like a sheep).

"Please follow me." He asked, "The Allfather asks for your presence immediately."

The guard took us through many different halls before we finally reached the throne room, and my goodness you need to be an athlete before you can do that walk again!

We finally reached the throne room (after what seemed like hours!), and stopped in front of its large doors.

"This is the throne room. I shall announce you presence to the Allfather, please wait here." The guard declared before going inside the door. I winced in pain as I looked at my newly formed blisters on my feet, never again would I wear those stupid sandals.

"How's the dress, my dear?" Uncle smirked.

"Oh, by the way, I'm so glad I can wear my riding pants **and **boots **all the time**!" he added, laughing a little too happily. I gave him my darkest glare,

"If we weren't in the palace right now, I swear…" Lucky for Uncle, the guard was ready to take us in before I could finish my sentence.

I walked in slightly behind Uncle, half filled with nerves, and the other half full of curses for Uncle for when we got back to the privacy of our own home.

The Allfather sat regally on his throne, smiling at us, and the Queen Frigga stood elegantly beside him. The throne room was mostly gold, adorned with paintings of what might have been Odin's predecessors, and of course, the King's marvellously decorated throne.

"Bruni, old friend, how are you?" Odin asked. Uncle gave a hearty laugh,

"Quite well your Odin, I trust you are the same?" He responded.

Odin stood and walked over to us, and gave Uncle a hug.

"Very much the same thank you. Although I'm beginning to regret having two sons whom are always late from their hunting trips, instead of a beautiful girl just like your niece has become." He said.

The Allfather approached me; I did my deepest curtsy, and smiled at him.

"Thankyou for inviting us to the palace this evening your Highness." I said. Odin smiled in return,

"You're quite welcome my dear, now as I said before, if both of you would please excuse both my sons lateness." He said, then gesturing Frigga to stand beside him.

Frigga was still stunning considering her age; creamy golden skin, light brown hair that fell to her waist, and she wore pale green dress, rippling around her as she walked.

"Good evening to both of you." She smiled, letting Uncle kiss her hand. She floated toward me.

"Hello Amelda, it's lovely to meet you." She spoke,

"I am unsure if either you know of the feast we are holding tonight, am I right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I looked at Uncle, and widened my eyes. That surely meant that there would be many 'precious' ladies there, giggling and gossiping at every moment. Oh, and young cocky soldiers who think themselves legends after their very first battle.

I looked back at Frigga, who patiently smiled and waited for her answer.

"Uh, no your majesty, we did not. Although I believe we do not have the appropriate attire for a feast." I replied, glancing down at my plain day dress, and over at Uncle's mud-sodden boots.

Both King and Queen laughed, nodding their heads in agreement.

"Your quite right Amelda! Don't fret, Frigga will get you ready, whilst I'll get your Uncle dressed into something not as soiled as his current clothes." He answered, and then guided Uncle outside the throne room.

Frigga grinned,

"My dear, I suppose you'll be staying the night, the feast will go 'till midnight, and you'll be much too tired to ride home." She piped up, after we watched the two men exit the room. I nodded my head in agreement.

"Follow me, my dear. We'll get you changed into something a bit more appropriate." She proposed.

"Yes your Majesty." I answered, but I really did not want to spend two hours being fussed over by the Queen. I would have much preferred to give Max a good gallop.

"There you are! My, don't you think she looks stunning girls?" Frigga exclaimed, quickly perfecting the finishing touches to my dress, before she stood back to admire her work. I felt awful. At the beginning, I spent the first hour of my torture letting five or six of Frigga's maids do my hair. It almost felt like they'd ripped every strand out of my skull during the process, but apparently, it was worth it.

But, oh, the dress was much worse! Frigga made me undress in front of everyone, and then they all helped dress me. It was quite a sight actually; everyone was so fiercely devoted to making the dress look perfect. Then finally at last, it was done.

"Thank Valhalla!" I thought, as I was just about ready to get the heck out of there.

One of the maids pulled out a large mirror from the bathroom, and lugged it over to me. I looked myself over; I wore a pale blue pleated dress (quite a similar style to Frigga's) with a gold piece that went over one shoulder. My long, honey-blonde hair tumbled down in gentle curls by my sides, and finally, I wore gold sandals to match, except much comfier than the ones that gave me blisters.

Considering I wasn't a fan of that sort of thing, I actually liked it.

"Thank you Frigga! You are truly kind." I said, smiling at her in delight.

"Your welcome. Now, come, we must go to the grand hall!" She announced.

We made our way to the grand hall, and boy, was I right. There were countless amounts of 'precious' ladies and smug soldiers, but I knew that I would probably stay with Uncle for the rest of the night anyway.

Frigga led me over to Uncle, wear he sat talking to the King. He looked up at me, and smiled.

"Don't you look lovely dear? All of the men won't be able to take their eyes off you!" He winked. Frigga giggled, and Odin threw his back head in laughter, and of course, my cheeks went crimson.

"Thank you Uncle, for that highly inappropriate comment." I snapped, giving him yet another glare. We most certainly would have much to talk about when we got home!

Odin stood and slapped Uncle on the shoulder,

"Isn't he a character your Uncle!" He laughed.

"Oh, it seems my sons have arrived, please excuse me." He said, walking off into the crowd.

Uncle stood and nudged me, and gave me a wink. So I gave him a bigger nudge in the side, he grabbed his side in pain, and winked back at him.

Odin returned with two young men, the taller one was stocky, and had long blonde hair, and he also looked like yet another arrogant soldier. Yet the other man was completely different, he was lean, with long legs and had black hair and green eyes, and a devilishly handsome face.

"Please meet Thor and Loki, my sons."


End file.
